Tag Archives: Flooding

The latest (and final) advisory related to Hurricane Irma basically indicates that the biggest threats are from rainfall, and even then little flooding is expected in East Tennessee.

This will be the last update briefing from NWS Morristown concerning Tropical Storm Irma.

Winds will increase through the day. We have highlighted the winds with the Wind Advisory. Look for winds of 15-30 mph with gusts of 40-50 mph. Highest winds and gusts will occur in the higher elevations. Highest wind gusts will occur tonight. Trees and power lines will be most susceptible to the higher winds. Therefore, a few power outages could occur. Winds will begin to subside Tuesday afternoon.

Rainfall does not look to be a problem. Around 2″ of rainfall is expected along and south of a Dayton, TN to Clay County NC line. Less rainfall is expected north of that line (generally north of I-40).

All rivers in our forecast area will remain below action stage, including the highlighted rivers from past briefings (Nolichucky, Pigeon, and French Broad). The rainfall in NC is expected to be less than previously forecast.

East Tennessee may have dodged a bullet with Irma, but as always, with a rain / wind event, use caution.

As it makes its way north through Florida over the weekend, East Tennesseans will want to pay attention early next week as forecast models have the remnants of Irma over northern Georgia and/or Alabama and into Tennessee late Monday through Tuesday. In some models, the center of Irma could come into Tennessee, drift West, then turn towards the East, possibly bringing tropical storm-force winds, and dumping torrential rainfall in the area and causing flooding issues as it changes directions.

The number of casualties of the recent West Virginia Flood has reportedly risen to at least 26.

West Virginia Declared Major Disaster

Last week, the state experienced heavy rain and major flooding. Various cities witnessed cars being washed away, people scrambling to safety and power lines failing to deliver electricity. In fact, the flood left more than 20,000 West Virginians without power for several days and in more unfortunate cases, many even lost their homes.

As a result, President Obama declared it a major disaster. In a statement published by the White House on June 25, Obama “ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides.”